The Cloud and His Tifa
by PastelSweet
Summary: She knew Cloud had a bit of a soft spot for her; he always blushed whenever he walked past her and clutched his mother's hand tighter. Cloti oneshot/drabble/flashfic folder.
1. Smashing

**NEWS: This was originally a oneshot, but i've decided to turn it into a oneshot/drabble/flashfic folder, cause I want to, and I've also got one for Yuffentine and it's actually good practice. So, I will take prompts, challenges, request etc etc! Anyway, read, review, and that'd make me happier than anything. They will range from anything to everything - sad, dark, happy, cute, crazy, funny, as will writing styles possibly, so on so forth. I think you get it.  
Warning: Kinda dark... I guess. Nothing bad though. Just a tad weird.  
Disclaimer: Me no own Final fantasy 7. Me go cry now. :'(  
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******Smashing.**

_Smashing. Breaking. Screaming._

_What was happening? Why couldn't I see? Why was everything so loud, so very, very loud? What was breaking? __**Why**__ was it breaking? Wait-_

"_No, no, this shouldn't be happening! Not now, not after everything…! "_

_Silence. What happened to the noise? Where did it go? Why won't it-_

_Oh, there it is. Crying? Was that… the sound of a person crying?_

_Why was the person crying? Why did it sound so familiar? So heart wrenchingly, achingly familiar? Why wouldn't they stop crying? Please, please just-_

_Light. So much light, flooding my senses. Why was it so bright? It was blinding, where did the darkness go? Why won't it come back, and stop the light hurting me? No, wait, I can see-_

_A woman. Curled in the corner of the room, dark tresses obscuring her face. Why did it look so familiar? That hair… I know I've seen it before… why can't I remember? Shouldn't I know this? Oh, she's stopped crying. Good. _

_No, not good. Screaming. Again. So much noise- too much noise, hurting my ears! Someone make it stop, anyone! No, she won't stop anytime soon. She's in pain, so much pain… no, more than pain. Agony. Why was she in agony?_

_Crunch._

_Oh, someone's left something on the ground- no, not just something. Something special. A small piece of… I don't know. I can't tell what it is._

_More, there's more of it everywhere. So many pieces, scattered all over the ground. I have to pick them up; maybe that's why she's crying. No, wait, this isn't…._

_A heart?_

_Why was there a heart here? Was it hers? The pieces are frozen… they've been here a while. Why won't she pick them up and fix it? I can't fix it- I have no glue or sticky tape. Maybe she does?_

_No, no. If she did, surely she would have fixed it. But… what if she can't fix it? Shouldn't I help? No, that would be meddling. She'll be fine on her own. This pain- agony won't last forever… will it?_

_Yellow? I can see yellow… and red? Yellow and red? No, those colour's shouldn't be together… no, too much red! Why won't the red go away? It shouldn't be here, on him! Anyone but him! _

_Blue. Vibrant blue, now dim in death. The man was dead, was that why she was in agony? Was it the red splashed across him the cause of this? Was it the emptiness of his eyes, the paleness of his skin? No, no no no… this man should not be dead! That woman should not be crying! _

_Why won't it stop? The screaming and the red… so much red… they should not be here! This was all wrong! Why… why couldn't I do anything? Why couldn't I help, in any way at all? I have the woman's heart in my hands, I need to fix it. But… how? I don't know how to fix hearts… but maybe… just maybe…_

_His blood. It could glue it together._

_Oh, cold… so very, very cold. Slimy, slithery, squishy._

_But glue, it was still glue. _

_Her heart, now it's together again. It isn't perfect, though. I can't get the pieces to stick together properly, they keep sliding apart again but it'll do, for now. Just along as I can help this woman, then I've done okay._

_What do I do now? Do I hand it to her? Do I just leave it here, next to him? I can't go to her… I'm covered in blood- his blood. A stranger in this man's blood. No, no. She should not have to see me like this. I should not have to see her like this. We should not have to see him like this._

_But… we have. We have and we can't change it._

_No, I should hand it to her. That's the least I can do, haphazardly fixing her heart so it won't fall apart again. No, no… it was sliding apart again. Why wasn't there any glue? I should be able to do a better job than this, but…_

_She looks so small there, cowering in the corner. Screaming… where was the screaming? Sobbing... sobbing instead of screaming? My legs… why won't they move faster? So sluggish… must move faster! _

_There. Finally. I'm in front of the woman, her hands covering her face. Slowly, carefully, I have to peel them off. No, no, don't look down. Look up, up! _

_There, she has her heart. It may be bruised, broken and missing a few pieces, but it's still there. It may be sliding apart and threatening to fall to pieces again, but surely she can find something else to fix it soon?_

_Oh- she was looking up. Finally. Her eyes- pain, so much pain, but recognition. Recognition? Why? _

_Me? Those are my eyes… my hair… my… No, this isn't right… She can't be me! I can't- __**won't **__grow up into this shattered woman! _

_That blond hair… the bright blue eyes… where have I seen them before? Flashing… so much flashing! No, no! This could not be-_

_It was._

_It was him._

_The outcast, the shy boy._

_The one with the unruly blond hair._

_Why… why did this happen? Why…_

_Why…_

_Why!_

"Miss Lockhart?"

Light. Voices. Numbness…

"Tifa? Sweetie, are you awake?"

Father? Why was he here, waiting for me to wake? Wasn't I just… falling? Then… fixing with blood…

"Tifa, can you hear me?"

Response… he's waiting for a response.

"Yeah…"

"Tifa, what were you doing up there with him? You know how dangerous it is!"

What? What was dangerous? Him? Who's him? Why is it so white-

Hospital. I'm in a hospital. No… I was just with that woman. And at Mt Nibel before that…

Blonde spikes. Falling. Pain, so much-

"Honey, you've been in a coma for a week, I was so scared. It was all Cloud's fault… filthy ruffian."

Cloud… ruffian?

No... no… not his fault! Anyone's but his fault!

"No… my fault. Cloud tried to-"

"No, I don't want to hear it Tifa. I don't want you going anywhere near him, understand?"

If that woman was me… and the man was him… maybe it was best to stay away?

A nod. Just a single nod. Father understood what I meant, I heard his sigh of relief. I hope, that by doing this… I've saved myself even just a little bit of pain. I don't want to become that woman, I don't want to end up like that. But… somewhere inside me… something's telling me I will. I hope with all my heart it's wrong… especially for him.


	2. Can't Draw her Pretty Enough

**This one just popped in my head, and I thought it was adorable! I just love young Cloud, and his cute little crush on Tifa. So yeah. Read, and please don't forget to review!  
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******Can't Draw her Pretty Enough.**

It was a bright, sunny, warm afternoon in the small town of Nibleheim. All the children of the town were in the centre, playing an assortment of games in the pleasant weather. Mrs Strife smiled to herself as she finished rinsing the plates, leaving them on the rack to dry so she had some spare time to relax. Wiping the excess water and grime off her hands, she took off her cleaning apron with a sigh as she glanced around her kitchen. Everything was perfect, much to her satisfaction.

She quickly ran a hand through her hair, before heading out to the living room to perhaps read a book or just sit in the sun. Mrs Strife wasn't a hard woman to please, so with a small smile on her face she decided that either way, she was happy with how she was going to spend her afternoon.

Entering the living room, she nearly tripped over a sizable lump she hadn't noticed in her dreamy haze. Scowling, she looked downwards to see a tuft of unruly blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"Sorry," he mumbled quietly, looking back down with shame. Mrs Strife felt her heart melt as she looked down at her only son, a spitting image of his father.

"It's alright sweetie. Why aren't you outside playing?" She just couldn't fathom why a seven year old boy would be inside, today of all days! Wouldn't he rather be out playing with his friends?

He mumbled something incoherent, before turning back to his work that she hadn't noticed before. Scanning the room, she noticed that random pieces of crumpled paper laid strewn all over the floor, broken pencils and pencil shavings littering the usually clean carpet. She stifled a sigh, before curiously turning her expression back to her son's.

"What are you drawing?" His little back stiffened at this question, as he quickly tried to cover up his work. He thought his mother had left him to draw in peace! His cheeks flamed bright red, his little brain trying to think of a suitable thing he would be drawing. While he was scrambling for an idea, he hadn't heard his mother sit down beside him, gently lifting his little arms off the paper. His little cheeks flamed even _brighter_ as his mother picked up the picture for a closer look.

"That's… the girl from across the street, isn't it?" She asked, gentle as always, looking at her child with a soft smile. He ducked his head in reply, a small mumble escaping his throat. Mrs Strife turned back to the picture, admiring her young son's talent. He had captured the girl pretty well, her lovely eyes glowing brightly with her long hair trailing softly down her little blue dress. She knew Cloud had a bit of a soft spot for her; he always blushed whenever he walked past her and clutched his mother's hand tighter.

Her son quickly snatched the picture back, working on it again with intense concentration for a few moments, before growling angrily and tossing it away, joining the many other pieces of paper he had scrunched up and chucked away.

Mrs Strife looked down at her son in surprise. She thought it was pretty good!

"Why did you do that? I thought it was a pretty nice picture," she said softly in confusion, wondering why on Gaia he would just throw it away like that. He looked up at her, frustration evident in his young eyes.

"No matter how much I practice, I just can't draw her pretty enough."


	3. Monster?

**Not much to say, just got attacked by someone yelling monster rabbit at me earlier today and this popped into my head. I don't really know how it is, I've only just written it up and since its nearly 1:30am I'm deciding to just put it up and proof-read it earlier. Anyway, reviews are great to have, and I would gladly appreciate any that I get... cause I know you guys are out there, I see you alerting me and lurking about! Reviews make the world a happier place, and me more motivated to write... yeah? Anyway, it's another little Cloud and Tifa, of course. They're about... 8 or so, younger if you want. Doesn't really matter. So yeah, read and review? Cheerio.  
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**Monster?**

It kept staring at him with unrelenting, blank eyes. Its noise twitched once, twice, before it… _hopped_ forward. What kind of animal did that? None that he knew of…

Maybe it was a monster. Yeah, it had to be! No animal could ever have ears as large as _that_, could it? And no animal in its right mind would have a ridiculous little pompom thing on the back part of it, and no _way_ could an animal have back legs as humungous as those!

Cloud was watching the monster through the front window of his house, his young face squished right up against the cool glass as the monster hopped around the middle of the town for a bit, its nose twitching every few seconds as it nibbled at random plants strewn around the area. He suddenly sucked in a short lungful of air and pulled his scrawny body back from the window as it hopped over in his direction, and held it until it moved away again. Maybe he shouldn't be sitting in a place it could see him so easily…

He quickly ducked down to the floor for a moment, before slowly pulling his head back up. His spiky blond hair popped up first, his bright blue eyes cautiously following suit. Just what w_as _this thing?

It was fascinating, really. It had probably come down from Mount Nibel, where all the other monsters lived. But… why did it come down to the small village? And since it did… did that mean the others would, too? No! They couldn't, not with his mother and Tifa being down here too…

Tifa!

Oh, she had better be okay! His breath hitched in his throat as he approached his front door, gingerly pulling it open. The monster hadn't seemed to notice yet, and he quickly ducked his head outside. The sun's rays greeted his skin with a warm sensation, pouring all through his hair in an effort to make it even brighter than usual. He swiveled his head around quickly, sighing with relief as he realized Tifa was still inside and safe from the monster.

He was just about to pull his head back inside when he saw two boys on the other side of the well, and they were both pointing at the monster with a wide-eyed look and loud remarks.

"Look at its teeth!" One of them gasped, pointing at two rather large teeth protruding from its tiny mouth. Cloud swallowed nervously, just imagining what kind of horror those two, pointy teeth of terror could inflict on someone… someone like Tifa…

"Woah, it's so furry!"

"Where do you think it came from?"

"Is it from the mountain?"

"I think so…"

Cloud was intently listening to the two boy's conversation in such a manner that he hadn't noticed his next door neighbour exit her house, clad in a pretty blue dress with wine red eyes to match. She quietly shut her door, walking out towards the monster with a face of determination.

Cloud's eyes flickered over to the movement in his peripheral vision, and his eyes widened when he realized what she was doing- she was marching _right_ over to the monster! She… she couldn't do that! She could get hurt!

He stood there for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He couldn't just go up and tell her not to… could he? But… what if she didn't like him? Would she think he was a freak too?

No… no she wouldn't. Because Tifa was nice. She wasn't like the boys she played with all the time, she was different… she was pretty and kind and nice and mature and didn't make fun or hurt him because he was different.

Sucking in a large gulp of air, Cloud mustered up the courage to walk over to Tifa. She looked up at him in surprise – then she smiled that smile that made him go all blushy and fidgety and nervous, but so happy at the same time even though the butterflies in his tummy were trying to fight their way out.

But that was impossible, cause butterflies didn't have claws and how did they get in his tummy if he didn't eat them? He was just being silly.

"Hello," she greeted kindly, brushing a stray lock of beautiful dark brown hair out of her eyes.

"Uhm… hi," he shuffled nervously, balling his fists at his side. What was he meant to say now? He hadn't thought this far ahead!

"Do you want to help me catch my bunny?" She asked pleasantly, smiling when Cloud looked up at her face, and away from her shoes.

"Your… bunny?"

"Yeah. He's right over there," she pointed over at the monster, and Cloud looked at her in surprise. The monster was _Tifa's_?

"But… it's a monster!" He exclaimed, ducking his head in embarrassment when she started laughing.

"No, silly! It's my bunny that Daddy bought me. Her name is Chance."

"Chance?" She nodded in affirmation at the name she had given it, throwing Cloud's young little mind into a whirlwind of activity… the monster that wasn't really a monster but he thought was one anyway belonged to Tifa? And she called it such a silly name?

"Okay," he mumbled quietly, walking alongside Tifa as she went over to her bunny. He couldn't help but feel proud. He had finally done it, he had finally talked to the pretty girl from next door. And, better yet, she didn't hate him! She didn't call him any names, or tell him to go away; instead, she had asked him to help her. To help _her_!

He started to smile foolishly, but he quickly pushed it back down.

"Why did you do that?" She asked suddenly, pushing another stray lump of hair off her face.

"Do what?"

"Stop your smile."

It was such an innocent question, but it made Cloud feel guilty anyway. Why did he do it? It was just something he did… he didn't deserve to smile. Instead of answering with words, he just shrugged his shoulders. He was never good with words.

"Well, I think you should smile more," she stated firmly, her hands on her hips as if to scold him. Cloud looked down, fighting a blush.

"Hey there," she said softly, squatting in her dress to scoop up the bunny in her hands. It didn't look so scary close up, he thought, but he still kept his distance. Tifa noticed this, and looked over at him with a small smile.

"Wanna hold her?" It was such a simple question, and even though he didn't want to, he'd never deny Tifa anything she wanted. Even if she wanted him to go catch her a thousand bunnies, he'd do it. But she wouldn't ask him that, she was too nice. He trusted her, so he nodded shyly in reply, holding his hands out as she slipped the bundle of fur into his hands.

"See? It's not so scary," she said encouragingly, giving Chance a pat on the head. No, it wasn't so scary, because he had Tifa next to him and she made everything okay. He gave a shy smile in response, walking back with Tifa to her house. When they reached the entrance, she took the bunny back out of his hands.

"Thankyou, Cloud," she smiled, opening her front door. Cloud nodded in reply, before hastily rushing back to his house and slamming the door shut, his heart beating faster than it ever had. It was all because of that little monster bunny he had a chance to speak to Tifa… a chance to make a friend. He smiled widely in response to the thought, a slight laugh escaping his lips.

Maybe Chance wasn't such a silly name for that bunny after all.


	4. A lock of Hair

Came up with this one when I came across a prompt - apptly titled 'a lock of hair'. Hence how this was born. Pretty short, but I like it anyway.  
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**A lock of hair.**

She clutched the old, rusted scissors tightly as she stared at her unblinking form. She lifted the scissors up to the light and watched the worn-out silver dance before her eyes, almost mesmerized by it. Slowly, she lifted them back down and returned her focus to the mirror in front of her. Now was the time. No more excuses.

Taking a deep breath, Tifa placed the scissors behind her back, clenching her eyes as she closed her hands.

_Snip._

Another deep breath.

_Snip._

"Tifa?"

The gentle voice from behind her had her eyes flying open, absorbing the reflection in the mirror.

"Tifa…"

He knelt down beside her, gently brushing her cheek. She was startled to realize there was moisture on the tips of his gloves – had she really been crying?

"I… I'm fine. I just need a minute, that's all," she said quietly, lifting the scissors again. She closed her eyes, preparing for the next cut.

But it never came.

His hand grabbed onto her wrist, effectively ceasing all motion in her body. Her wrist burned from the contact, and she lifted her gaze to his. He said nothing as he removed the scissors from her hand, gently pushing her shoulder so he could sit behind her.

He moved the scissors with deliberate care, going slow enough so she could stop him if she wanted. Instead, she remained silent; watching with wide eyes as he slowly cut her hair, staring at his hands with the concentration given to only the most important of tasks.

He dusted off her back, gathering up the fallen hair into a neat pile.

"I… thank you," she whispered softly, ducking her head as his lips tilted gently.

"Anytime, Tifa."


End file.
